Come to the dark side. We have cookies.
I don't own FT or the Pradesh family.
"Hey," Kaleb said, joining Lucy in the observation room of the obstacle course training ground.
"Hey," she replied turning around to hug him. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, my mate came home last night and fell asleep before I could ask her how her day went. And I didn't get much time with her this morning, so I thought I'd return the favor of reminding her to eat lunch."
"Huh?" she said, reaching for Horologium's key. "Shit. I'm surprised Natsu didn't remind me it was lunch time."
"How's it going?"
"Sting and Rogue, Emi and Laxus, they obviously work well together. It's everybody else," she groaned, gesturing to them. "Emi and Natsu, oddly enough, work well together. Cris works well with anyone. Wendy too. Gajeel and Erik agree on one thing which is that they pretty much hate everyone else. Sting and Rogue still hero worship Gajeel and Natsu which you'd have thought they'd have gotten over by now. And when I try to pair with any of them, they go into 'protect the queen' mode which is getting really old really fast."
"Feel better?"
"Little bit." She turned on the intercom and said, "All right. Wrap it up for lunch. Be back here in two hours. If you can, snag your mates, please."
"What are you thinking?"
"That maybe teams of four would work better. I need to talk to Gajeel and Levy first though."
"They're the first, huh?"
"Yeah. She was pregnant before I officially became queen which is why I think she's been dismissing the signs. The books say dragonesses could only become pregnant after their queen."
"We're going to have lots of our own, right?"
"I hated being an only child so yeah, probably." She looked up at him with a coy smile. "I said two hours. It'll take us less than one to eat. Maybe we should practice."
"Are you trying to seduce me?"
"Always." She jumped them to their apartment before kissing him. It had been embarrassing how bad her aim was when she was distracted. Luckily, it had just been a view of Bickslow and Erik that she could've done without.
.~*~.
Emery was sitting in the cemetery when she felt the chill. She knew that he'd wait until she said anything, so she pretended not to notice Invel's presence behind her.
She was at her parents' graves. It was where she went when she was avoiding Acnologia because he understood grieving. He'd admitted that it had taken him some time to accept his parents' deaths in a dragon attack. It had been what led him to becoming a dragon slayer in the first place.
"What did you do to piss Zeref off?" she asked after a few minutes.
"What do you mean?" Invel asked.
"He sent you to watch over me even though we both know what Acnologia will do if he sees you."
Invel walked over and sat next to Emery. Seeing her flowers, he encased them in ice that would make them last longer. "He sent me because he knows you like me best. He was worried."
"He wasn't worried. That's not the right word."
He sighed. "He knows that children weren't part of the agreement."
Invel watched as her jaw clenched. The news had finally started connecting the attacks. In three that Emery hadn't supervised, over fifty children had been killed. He could see that she'd cried for those children.
"No, they weren't."
"They weren't targeted." She gave him a withering glare. "I know. What of the archangel?"
"I'm supposed to see him today. I won't claim him."
"Lord Zeref may take it out of your hands if you can't sway him."
"If he shows today, it'll mean I have enough pull to sway him."
"That might not be enough. Brandish got a hold of a White Sea mage. Their guildmaster is an archangel now. The Joyans have very effective ways of swaying a man. And she has active contracts."
"And he's mated to a dragon queen. He's also a wizard saint."
Invel smiled darkly and said, "There's always ways around things like that. And who better than Joyans to find them." Emery stood. "Whether you like it or not, that's the truth of the position we're in."
"I don't like it. But more importantly, I've got a date with an angel."
*.*.*
While sharing pleasure with Andromeda had certainly helped, Zen still wanted to see Emery. It was an antsy feeling and he could feel the key burning against his chest. The weight of the magazine seemed heavier with each passing second.
Emery was sitting on a blanket with a basket and food. She smiled when he landed. "I wasn't sure you'd come. Cookie?"
He dropped the magazine in front of her. Emblazoned across the front were the words: More than a thousand deaths in series of attacks throughout Ishgar.
"I'll take that as a no." She bit into the cookie she'd held out to him.
"Why?"
"Because I had to."
"And the children?"
Her jaw clenched, and she didn't try to meet his glare. "Acnologia and Motherglare did that. It wasn't supposed to happen."
Zen scoffed.
"How dare you judge me?" she demanded as she stood. "Do you judge the others in your house so harshly? How much blood do you have on your hands, Dark Eagle?"
"I had to kill to survive. What do you get out of this?"
"Do you wanna know the scariest thing about me is? Unlike you, I'm the product of a happy childhood. My parents were mages. My dad died on a job when I was twelve, but he wasn't around much to begin with… My mom was my best friend. We had a good life. Until one day, a dark guild captured my mother, drained her of her magic, and sealed her in a cocoon that kept her on the brink of death for a month."
"I'm sorry for your loss, but what does this have to do with anything? Much less my family."
"Your little brother mated one of them. The dark mages, I mean."
"Erik…"
She gave him a feral grin. "I want justice. Acnologia is helping me get it."
"That isn't justice. It's revenge."
"A rose by any other name still smells as sweet."
"There's gotta be a better way."
"Really? Like what?"
"Like accepting that he changed. That he's remorseful."
"Is he? Or are you just trying to save me?"
"Both."
"I don't need you to save me. I have a mate for that."
His eyes widened. "Acnologia?"
She gave him a confused look. "Does that surprise you?"
"Yes. You don't feel claimed. I know how that should feel."
"I'd become like him if we fully mated." She smiled. "We're waiting until the world is ours."
"You really think that you'll win?"
"Yes. I'd like you to join us."
"Why?"
"Why not?" she replied with a shrug. "I told you before, wouldn't you like to taste true freedom?"
"No. Someone's pulling your strings, aren't they? Is it Zeref or Acnologia?"
"Smart man," she muttered softly. "Zeref, but I'd prefer to avoid his tactics."
"Which are?"
"Torture. Slavery. I'd rather have an ally. A friend. I told you before, I'm the lesser of two evils. And I dread to think what they'll do to that key around your neck."
"Back off," Andromeda said, summoning herself to Zen's side. Looking at Emery, her eyes widened. "Of course," she murmured.
Emery's eyes narrowed before she turned back to Zen. "I'll see you in two days. You should eat the cookies. It was my mom's recipe."
As much as Zen wanted to say that he wouldn't be, he knew that wasn't true. Not because she compelled him, but because she was asking him.
.~*~.
"Hey," Lucy said, stopping Gajeel and Levy before they entered the training ground. "There's a great bakery just down the road. Let's talk for a second."
"Why?" Levy said, hands on her hips.
"We can't talk just the three of us?"
"We can, but you always insist on being somewhere public and preferably around food when you have bad news."
"It's not bad. Just…complicated."
"Lu..." "Bunny girl…" both of them said threateningly.
"You're pregnant!" she said with her eyes closed before slowly opening them. "Sorry. I didn't mean to blurt that out. I had a whole spiel planned and- Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked realizing they were both looking at her with expressions that were a cross between shock and horror.
"But I can't be pregnant. Not until you are. That's what all the books say."
"One, technically those books are about dragons and not dragon slayers. Secondly, you were pregnant before I became queen."
"But that means-"
"That you're probably around six weeks and should start noticing the morning sickness. Yeah."
"Gihihi. And you we're wondering why you'd been feeling so sick lately."
Levy looked ready to puke. "I need a second opinion."
"Cris and Wendy are both inside already."
The script mage ran inside without another word. She skidded to a stop in front of where Cristoff, Wendy, and Chelia were talking.
"Should you be running like that in your condition?" Cristoff asked.
"It's true?" she whispered before promptly running over to a trash can and puking up her lunch.
Cristoff walked up behind her and rubbed circles on her back. He arched an eyebrow when Gajeel made a growling noise before realizing the moon dragon slayer was using his magic to ease her morning sickness. "I'm sorry. I assumed you knew since you're coming up on two months."
"Oh. That's what the scent is?" Wendy asked.
"You knew too?" Levy demanded, wiping her mouth.
"There was a weird scent, but I hadn't realized that's what it was. I've never had the opportunity to be around it and ask," Wendy said apologetically.
"It's all right. You still have time to learn," Cristoff said.
"Why don't we go watch from the observation room?" Lucy said softly.
"Okay. Make sure he pays for doing this to me," Levy said, giving Erik and Bickslow a pointed look.
"This should be fun," Erik said while Bickslow had a tongue-wagging grin.
"Lucy," Cristoff said, stopping her with a hand on her shoulder. "Where's Kaleb?"
"There's so many teams out right now on general patrol… Getting him to take the time to do flying lessons with Zen is hard enough. I didn't want to ask."
"You two need to learn a rhythm when sparring too."
"I know. Do you think you and Meredy might be free for an hour or so after dinner?"
"Probably. You're buying drinks though. When are the rest of Fairy Tail leaving?"
"The dragons and mates are staying. But everyone else is set to leave day after tomorrow."
"Have you taken the time to hang out with them?"
Lucy puffed out her cheeks. "Not as much as I should have. But, in my defense, it's been kinda hectic."
"And we all might die so it might do you some good to at least go out to dinner before they leave."
"I hate when you're being the voice of reason."
"That's why I'm your knight," Cristoff said, kissing her temple before nudging her towards the stairs.
"Yeah, but I already get that from your brother."
The Fiorian dragon slayers gawked at the gesture, their gazes bouncing between them and Meredy, who was entirely nonplussed. Wendy was the only one who looked at Natsu. The fire dragon slayer was glaring at the ground and kicking up dust.
Wendy went to go to him but Chelia stopped her.
"He has to learn that their dynamics changed," Chelia said quietly.
"But-" Wendy sighed. She knew her mate was right and kissed her softly. "He's kin though."
"Gajeel, since you're temporarily mate-less, you're teamed up with Natsu," Lucy said over the intercom.
"What?" both men yelled.
"On second thought," Wendy said as Chelia giggled.
"Do I need to come down there and kick both of your asses?"
"No…"
"That's what I thought. Hmph."
.~*~.
"That's Mirajane Strauss," Rhiannon said, eyeing the model from Fairy Tail. She and Vander were waiting in the guild for Lucy to call it a night from sparring with the other dragon slayers.
"Okay?"
"We should see if she wants to join us for a bit."
"Didn't we just have a conversation on trying to figure out our relationship without other people?" Vander asked.
"But it's Mirajane Strauss. They're all leavin' in a few days. Who's to say we're going to get another chance?"
He smiled at the fact that while her Boscan was still awful, her more affected accent had diminished and he found the mixture of the musical lilt and the rougher consonants was rather sexy.
"No more third parties."
"Are ye tellin' me that ye dinae try get in her dress before we were mated?" Vander glanced at the mage. Yes, she was beautiful, and he had a new appreciation for her cerulean blue eyes.
"Not the point. Besides, she's Fiorian. She might not swing your way."
"There's no harm in askin'."
The couple was so busy arguing the merits of seducing the mage that they didn't notice Lucy, Bickslow, and Erik walk by. It took a second for Lucy and Bickslow the recognize what they were arguing about and stopping.
"Are they arguing about sharing pleasure with Mira?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Bickslow responded.
"And is Van the one saying no?"
"Uh huh. Is the world ending?" Bickslow's confused expression mirrored Lucy's.
"I think so because that's gotta be a sign of the apocalypse."
"Who do you think's gonna win?" Erik asked. He was exhausted. Not because Gajeel and Natsu worked well together but because they didn't. They couldn't get on the same page, so he struggled to keep two sets of plans straight.
Bickslow and Lucy watched them for a moment. "Rhiannon," they decided.
Rhiannon heard her name and noticed them gawking. "Hey. We were waiting for ye."
"Oh. Okay. Sorry to interrupt."
"Nae. 'Tis fine. Van apparently has a stick up his arse. Which is a lot less interesting than that man over there."
"Seriously, Woman." Vander pulled her into a deep kiss. "Are you that bored of me that it can't just be the two of us for a while?" he asked quietly.
A blush almost the same shade of red as her hair spread across her cheeks and obscured her freckles. "I- uh… No?"
"Good," he said, pecking her lips and turning back to an amused Lucy. "We have information. We debriefed Farron earlier. Figured you could tell Kaleb between orgasms."
Lucy rolled her eyes and gestured for them to follow. Over the last few days, she'd turned her old office into a war room of sorts. A large map of Ishgar was nailed to one wall with pins signifying each attack. On another wall was a list of each attack with dates, times, casualties, and locations.
"This is terrifying, Tink."
"I'm trying to plot world domination. There's something I'm not seeing."
"No attacks in Joya or Pergrande," Vander said.
"What? Yes, there have."
"They've been small compared to other attacks. And in largely inconsequential locations."
Lucy grabbed a pen from her desk and wrote 'DISTRACTIONS' on the Joyan and Pergrandian attacks. "What's Alvarez's success probability with and without Joya or Pergrande?"
"Without… 42.8. With… 83.1. That's primarily wit' just Pergrande. Too much food is imported from them. They could effectively starve us out in a few months."
"Zeref is four hundred years old. He's got patience down pat. But why bother with Acnologia? The whole point of teaming up with Anna and sending the slayers through time was to defeat Acnologia. So what changed?" Lucy said, more musing to herself than to the others in the room.
"Ye being trapped on Tenrou Island," Rhiannon said. "It was what turned Zeref into a-" she paused as she tried to figure out the right word- "into a bad guy. They teamed up afterwards."
"Maybe. There's still something that I'm missing. Did you find out anything about Emery?"
"That's-"
"I know who she is," Andromeda said, summoning herself to Lucy.
"Andy? Why aren't you with Zen?"
"He's home now," Andromeda said, waving away Lucy's concern. "But we have bigger problems. I know who she is."
"How?"
"Because Zen's been seeing her."
Lucy's eyes widened and she whipped around to look at Rhiannon.
"I was just about tae get tae that."
"Who is she?" Lucy asked.
"Emery Cuore. I reached out to her former contracts. According to them, their contracts broke when she died."
"Yeah, well she's very much not dead," Vander said. "Though, I'm not opposed to fixing that."
"I noticed, but-"
"Nae. I think I understand," Rhiannon said. "When my parents- The last few months before my lacrima was put in me, we were starvin'. They were scrimpin' every jewel tae afford the procedure 'cause the doctor said it woulnae be safe once I got too old. If they put the lacrima in her as an adult, it coulda killed her."
Andromeda turned to Erik. Her eyes were cold as she studied him. "You were a dark mage originally, weren't you?" She took his flinch as confirmation. "Part of the Oración Seis?"
"We already knew this," Bickslow said.
"And yet, you mated him. About three years ago, you and your dark guild tried to activate the Infinity Clock. To get the pieces, you had to track down the six mages that had been linked to those pieces, drain their magic so that the body-link between them and the clock pieces would be inert, then put them in cocoons so that they wouldn't die causing the body-link to pass onto the next family member."
Erik refused to meet any of their eyes. Bickslow placed a hand on his shoulder which he shrugged off.
"Do you even know any of their names?"
"What does-"
"Her mother," Andromeda said with a sharp look at Lucy before turning her glare back to Erik. "Martina Cuore was a celestial spirit mage. Her great-grandmother was the one with the original body-link spell cast on her."
"I forgave him and this whole thing tried to use me as a clock's battery."
"But you survived."
"Is he scheduled tae see her again?" Rhiannon asked.
"Why?" Andromeda and Lucy both asked.
"It would be the perfect opportunity to pull a double cross. If we can get her to at least consider forgiving Erik, we might have a powerful ally. She knows Acnologia more intimately than probably anyone," Vander said.
"Of course, it might just royally piss him off," Rhiannon said.
Lucy resisted the urge to smile at Vander's annoyed expression at her blasé tone. Shifting into apathy or hiding behind boredom still seemed instinctive for her since everyone else's expressions showed some concern.
"All right. Everyone, go."
Lucy walked to the guild's dining hall and grabbed food for her and Kaleb. They'd been eating in his office a lot while dealing with the teams on patrol, fielding calls with other guilds, and talking to his brother and father who were both dealing with some of the diplomatic aspects.
"Do you have thirty?" she asked. She could feel her mate's frazzled emotions.
"Farron's supposed to call in a minute. Why?"
"Hm…" she said teasingly as she walked over. He adjusted automatically to let her stand between his legs. "Let's see how good your poker face is."
"Oh fuck," he muttered when she dropped down beneath his desk and unzipped his pants.
"After the call."
*.*.*
Lucy was frustrated. Sensing that, as soon as they finished their sparring match, Cristoff and Meredy high-tailed it back to Pelerno for the night.
The obstacle course was set to her preferred boulder mode. They'd spent the first few minutes darting around, tagging each other. Both Cristoff and Kaleb remarked on how much time she'd spent training with Bickslow and Erik since she maneuvered around with the most ease.
It was around the hour mark that she'd realized that she'd only sparred Meredy once compared to the three matches between Cristoff and Kaleb and the two between Kaleb and Meredy. For the next fifteen minutes, she'd deliberately put herself in the line to spar Cristoff only for Kaleb to somehow constantly be there. She'd have thought he had some shifting ability by how quickly he did that.
It was when Lucy let out a low, whining growl that Cristoff stopped and called it a night.
"I'm sorry," Kaleb said, reaching for her but she shrugged him off.
"I'm not mad. I'm frustrated, okay? We have a good rhythm together mentally and emotionally and physically when we're in bed but not this. And being able to fight side by side is kinda important. Especially since some of these attacks are probably Alvarez pretending to be Acnologia."
"You're-"
"And yes," she said, not noticing his attempts to interrupt as she started pacing. "I appreciate that you're a wizard saint and incredibly powerful which is incredibly sexy, but I'm a dragon slayer. A Queen. I have a whole tatsu of dragon slayers who don't listen to me saying that I don't need their protection. I don't need that from you. I need a partner from you."
He interrupted her tirade by grabbing her shoulders and kissing her. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'll work on it. But I still really just want to put you in a tower to keep you to myself forever."
"We'll talk about building a tower in some remote location another time. Okay? Some place where your tablet isn't allowed."
His eyes narrowed but he smiled. "Deal."
She kissed him again. "Go. I need some time to myself."
"You know, we've gotta spar against each other tomorrow for the grand opening."
"I forgot about that," she muttered, looking around. With everything going on, she'd forgotten something so seemingly mundane as the obstacle course opening to the public. Or that she and Kaleb were expected to be the first demonstration. Beck and Evergreen had returned earlier that day since Beck was part of Kaleb's official team.
"Did you already sign up for time?"
"No. It seemed like an abuse of power."
He kissed her again. "I love you. Don't stay out too late. I miss cuddling."
"Love you too. I won't." She watched him leave and let him into her mind to be privy to every lascivious thought. Many of them cracking him up which in turn made her smile.
She'd only been alone a few minutes when the door opened, and she felt Natsu's familiar magic signature.
"What are you-" She stopped when she realized that he was accompanied by Erza, Gray, and Juvia.
"Lucy," Erza said, pulling Lucy into a tight hug.
"Erza. Can't. Breathe," she said, trying to wiggle out of her grip without hurting her friend.
As soon as Erza released her, Juvia grabbed a hold of her as well. "Lucy-san! Juvia is so glad that you're no longer a love rival!"
"Never was. Still struggling to breathe."
Gray walked over and pulled Lucy from Juvia's grasp.
"Thanks."
"Gray-sama! You can't have her. Come back to Juvia," Juvia wailed as soon as Gray released Lucy.
"Guys, what are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here."
"You are," Gray said.
"Yes, but I'm the Mistress of White Sea. I'm allowed to be here."
"You're married!" Erza said.
"Not yet. Engaged. But we're mated so it doesn't legally matter if we ever married."
"They didn't believe us about how cool this place was, so we had to show them," Happy said, dropping into Lucy's arms.
"What are you doing here?" Erza asked.
"Thinking. I was training earlier with Cristoff, Meredy, and Kaleb."
"How is Meredy? It was weird, not having her around."
"She's good. Her and Cristoff are amazing together."
Erza smiled. "I'm glad." She looked around then back at Lucy. "Think your up for another match?"
"Yeah," Lucy said with a smile.
They started with five versus five. Erza had to requip out of her armors when she realized they were all too heavy for the agility required by the obstacle course. Juvia used her water body to flow around boulders, avoiding Gray. She kept knocking out Natsu's flames which annoyed him and amused Gray to Juvia's pleasure.
Erza complimented how much Lucy had improved when the two sparred. As well as asking where she could get her own rantai when Lucy managed to disarm her with it.
After forty minutes, Erza yelled to switch to two versus three to give Lucy and Natsu a chance to fight together.
"I've got Erza," Natsu yelled gleefully as Lucy rolled her eyes and went for Juvia.
At some point, Natsu and Gray started brawling. Their fighting devolved into potshots, as usual. Soon, Lucy was chiming in with her own. Followed by Erza then Juvia. They found themselves sitting in the middle of the course teasing each other. Laughing and exhausted.
"You're really not coming back, are you?" Juvia asked.
"No. I'm happy here. I have a life here. When all this is over, I'll send Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy back to you. Maybe Laxus."
"Is it really okay for you to be that far from the rest of your dragons?" Erza asked.
Lucy shrugged. "That's why Wendy's gonna be in charge. If Laxus doesn't go back."
"I've talked to him about taking the guild over. He's definitely changed because he said he'd have to think about it."
"I was just thinking about the Bubble Butt Gang," Natsu said abruptly.
"Ew," Juvia said.
"Gross," Gray complained.
"The odor is ingrained in my memory," Lucy groaned as she threw a small rock at her friend. Gray followed suit until they were laughing again as they threw small pebbles at one another. "C'mon. I've got someone waiting for me."
They walked out, Lucy locked up, and started heading towards the Fairy Tail house and the guild.
"I can't believe you'd put Wendy in charge," Natsu said as he draped and arm over her shoulder. "I'm the son of the fire dragon king. Didn't you say I could lead?"
"Natsu? Lead?" Gray snorted.
"I already kicked your ass. And you acknowledged me as queen so no take-backs. And yeah. Of course, I'd choose Wendy. She's mated and the most responsible out of you all. Otherwise, it would be Gajeel because at least he has Levy."
She paused for a moment. "Erza, do you have a list of all the dark guilds Crime Sorciere has taken down since the Oración Seis joined them?"
"No, but Jellal would. I can get them if you need them."
"Please."
"Why?" Juvia asked.
"We're gonna try to save someone on Acnologia's side. But I need to show her that Erik and the others have changed. That they're paying for their crimes."
They arrived at the guild first. "Thank you," Lucy murmured as she hugged each of them. "I needed that."
Inside, she showered quickly and didn't bother putting on pajamas when she saw that Kaleb hadn't either.
"What happened?" he asked when he noticed the bruises and scuff marks dotting her skin.
"Ran into my team. They have no concept of holding back so sparring with them was really good. I needed it."
"I'm glad." He moved so that he held himself over her with one arm. "You know, my beautiful mate has been coming home exhausted. I'm feeling rather neglected."
"We can't have that," she murmured, shuddering as his breath teased her skin and moving his hair so that she could get a better look at his face.
"Nope. None of that. I think you're too injured." His voice was husky as he stopped her hand from touching him. "I definitely think I need to pleasure you."
"I'm definitely okay with that," she said breathlessly as his lips moved down her neck.
.~*~.
Emery returned home once she knew that she could no longer avoid it. She was cursing herself for avoidance being her initial reaction. If she'd have just bottled her emotions and pretended that the deaths hadn't affected her, she wouldn't be in this position.
"You're avoiding me," he said as rose from the armchair where he'd been waiting for her. "Why?" he demanded, knowing that she wouldn't lie to him. He advanced on her until her back hit the wall. When she refused to meet his gaze, he grabbed her chin and forced her head to turn. "Why?"
"The children."
He released her with a scoff and walked back into the living room. "Of course, this is about the damn children."
"We agreed that we wouldn't kill any children."
"You decided that. I just didn't refuse. Besides, aren't a bunch of dead kids better than living orphans?"
"I try hard not to kill parents either."
"Oh yes," he said, whipping around, grabbing her hands, and tugging them so she was off balance. His claws dug into her palms. "You want to be the voice of morality. How much blood is on your hands?"
He shoved her hands away. Already off-balance, she fell. His claws had punctured her skin so her bloodied hands slipped when she tried to grab ahold of the table to break her fall. She whimpered slightly when her injured palms caught the edge of the table.
She stayed on the floor, careful to not cry. She wasn't keeping track of time when Acnologia returned to her with water, a towel, and bandages.
"I'm sorry."
She didn't respond. Instead, she watched the bowl of water turn pink as he cleaned the wounds.
"What of the archangel?"
"He's protected by a spirit. Probably one of Heartfilia's. I spoke to-" she hesitated for a second- "one of Zeref's generals. White Sea's guildmaster is an archangel too. And mated to Heartfilia. Zeref is thinking to let the Joyans try. The Joyans might even be able to get around the mating."
"Maybe you should let them." Emery instinctively jerked causing Acnologia to sigh like a parent dealing with a particularly petulant child. "I won't say anything to him."
She looked up from where she was watching him bandage her hands and smiled.
"Come on," he said, pulling her up. "Come to bed. You've had a long day."
She nodded and kissed him. "Thank you. For the patch up."
He held her face, not bothering to be careful about the coloring bruises, and gave her a deeper, possessive kiss. "Don't forget. You're my mate," he said darkly into her ear. "Let's go to bed."